Perfectly in Plain Sight
by Fluffy Bunnies Are So Cute
Summary: When Max has to write an essay describing her perfect guy, she doesn't realize that she's described Fang. Meanwhile, Fang's trying to get hold of this essay so he can become Max's perfect man. Turns out, he didn't need to. Why is that? Because Max was just as in love with him, as much as he loved her. FAX!


_**Perfectly in Plain Sight**_

* * *

Maximum Batchelder

_Assignment:_

_Write about your perfect person; explain what he/she looks like, their personality, their friends, their attitude towards life _— _anything, and everything you can do to describe them. Imagine this as a speech you'd have to read in front of your year, although the grade is purely for the writing quality._

…

_It is obvious that no one's perfect. It isn't possible. The last time someone tried to do that, was back in World War II, when Adolf Hitler attempted to create the perfect, superior race. Look how that turned out._

_Although perfect isn't a trait anyone carries, there is always the ideal image; the person thought to be perfect. For example, the _'Virtruvian Man'_, created by Leonardo DaVinci; a sketch thought to be the perfect body proportions._

_So, one should have a perfect dream guy; someone with absolutely no imperfections, even me, Maximum Batchelder._

_Perfection isn't by looks, even if they would be taken into consideration. However, the only requirement I would have, is that they'd be taller than me. Possibly dark, mysterious eyes, but then again, appearance isn't what makes up the person._

_It's the personality that matters; the interior of the person. This man should be ready to take charge, but not think the woman, me, couldn't support herself. He should stick up for his opinions, rather than being a sycophant, but not be entirely too stubborn._

_He would be kind to his friends, but apathetic to his enemies; keeps his word; ready to defend himself and his friends; respects his life, and the fact he was created for a reason._

_I want a guy who can be loyal, yet not too clingy or overprotective. I want someone who wouldn't change for me, and rather, be the person he is — the one I fell in love with. I want someone who is not scared to admit his true feelings to me, or any girl he may fall in love, later in life, with. I want someone who would fall in love with _me_ because I am _me_._

That_, is my perfect guy._

* * *

_Two weeks later, after the assignment was due-_

"Hey, Miss Dwyer," Fang said casually, as he sauntered up to her desk. Brigid Dwyer was an extremely young teacher — at the age of twenty-one — who taught the seniors at Westbrook High, social skills.

Fang wasn't in her class, and didn't need help with homework, but that wasn't why he was there.

He, so to speak, was on a mission. A mission to retrieve Max's essay.

You see, Max and Fang are best friends, and they have been since they both were young. As the years passed, the two of them grew closer and closer together, their relationship evolving, until Fang decided he wanted to be _more_ than 'just friends'.

Miss Dwyer was a pretty young lady, with straight red hair and wide jade eyes. She was known as the sweetest and youngest teacher to ever walk the halls at Westbrook High.

"Hi," she replied, smiling. "You can call me Brigid — everyone does. Besides, I'm only what, three years older than you," Brigid said warmly.

Fang nodded in response, as he put on a charming white grin. "Call me Fang. How are you, Brigid?" he asked. Fang couldn't believe he was attempting to _seduce_ a teacher into giving him Max's essay, no matter how wrong it was.

Brigid blushed, despite the situation. "I'm fine, Fang, why do you ask?"

He shrugged nonchalantly and leaned towards Brigid. Glancing behind him, to make sure the door was shut, Fang smirked, leaning forward further, causing her cheeks to flare up even more. "F-Fang?" Brigid stammered.

_This is so wrong…_ Brigid thought. _I could be fired for this, _Fang nuzzled his nose in her neck, _but it's… Fang. _She shivered at his touch and Fang smiled to himself. "Brigid?" he wondered softly.

She nodded shakily and Fang continued. "Do you think I could see those essays the students wrote a while back?" he whispered in her ear. Brigid tensed, sensing something wrong, but Fang pressed his face into her neck and she relaxed.

"I-I don't kn-now," she mumbled, her head tilting back. Fang smirked. It was absolutely, tremendously disgusting, but it was working.

"What about now?" he muttered huskily, pulling back. Brigid gasped, missing the warmth Fang radiated; the warmth she craved right now. Her hands reached towards Fang, pulling him towards her, yet he resisted

Moments passed and Brigid allowed a tiny nod as her eyes fluttered closed. "It's… It's in the drawer in the side of my desk," she mumbled, her body loving the little pleasure Fang gave her.

Fang leaned back slightly, his hand reaching towards the drawer. His fingers finally reached the cool metal handle of the drawer and he tugged on it.

Yet it didn't open.

Because it was locked.

His gaze settled on Brigid, eyes slightly narrowed. "It's locked," Fang said pointedly. She giggled and pointed to her neck.

Sure enough, there was a chain with a key on it. Fang groaned. _She cannot be serious,_ he thought, disgusted. _I'm willing to bet she's drunk or something, because there is _no way_I'm getting that from… there._

Fang held out a hand, his onyx eyes telling her to hand it over. Brigid shook her head, 'no', and she grabbed Fang's hand. He shook himself out of her grip and took the entire chain off her neck.

She pouted at him, but did nothing else, instead, staring at him with wide eyes. _Why have I never noticed how cute he was…_ Brigid mused to herself as she leaned back in her chair.

He retrieved Max's essay from the stack and put the key on her desk. Brigid was looking up at him expectantly, yet Fang did nothing else.

Sighing, he left the room without another look at the teacher.

_Oh, what I do for Max. She's lucky I love her enough, for me to do this._

* * *

_Meanwhile-_

"Hey Max!" Nudge exclaimed, her face giddy. Max looked up from where she was sitting on the grass outside, to see Nudge.

"Hmm?" she wondered, momentarily pausing from reading her novel.

"Brigid graded our assignments!" yelled Nudge, a wide grin spread across her mocha-skinned face. Max rolled her eyes, not caring, and her attention was averted back to the book in her hands.

Nudge's shoulders drooped, due to Max's lack of excitement, but she perked up once more. "So what's your dream guy like?"

She shrugged. "Whatever I wrote in my essay."

"And…?" Nudge prodded.

Max looked up again. "And?" she replied. "And… I just described he perfect guy, like she asked." Her head was back in her book after that.

Nudge sighed, exasperated, as she marched to Max, taking the book from her hands. "Elaborate," she commanded.

With her eyes narrowed at Nudge, Max stood up. "No. Give me my book back."

She shook her head. "Not going to happen." Nudge rested her weight on one leg as she looked at the cover of the book. "Maximum Ride: The Angel Experiment? Seriously? I bet you picked it out because it has your name in it," Nudge accused.

"Or maybe because my uncle wrote it _for_ me?" Max replied her face blank as she examined her nails.

"No _way_!" Nudge gaped.

Again, Max shrugged. "Read the dedication page… _After _you give me my book back and buy your own." Max jumped to grab the book from Nudge, yet she held it away.

"Nuh-uh. You, missy, must tell me what you wrote in your essay, or this book will go in," she looked around, her face lighting up, "there!" Nudge finished pointing at one of Westbrook High's infamous trashcans.

The cans were gross, full of trash that was barely ever cleaned out. No one in their right mind would dig anything out of it, even if whatever belonging that might have been thrown in there was precious.

Max's eyes widened and she stopped trying to attack her friend. "Fine," she finally gave in.

Nudge jumped up and down. "Okay! So what did you write about in you essay?" she wondered excitedly.

"Tall. Dark, mysterious eyes. Knows how to balance the amount of work done by both the male and female. Sticks up for his rights, but not too stubborn, or a suck up. Kind. Loyal. Protective, but not overly. Someone who will tell me what's going on in their head, and their true feelings. Someone who likes me for me," Max droned off the things she wrote in her speech aloud.

Nudge listened carefully, her eyes widening with every word Max said. _No. It couldn't be! EEK! She's totally describing Fang! I knew this day would come, when they both admit their true feelings for each other!_

"Nudge!" Max yelled.

She flinched. "Yes?"

"Can I have my book back now?" Max asked tiredly. Nudge nodded.

"On one condition…"

Max sighed. "I already did your condition."

"Well, another then," Nudge said, smiling. Max nodded for her to continue. "Okay, well were you thinking of anyone in particular when you wrote that?" she grinned deviously.

_Was I?_ Max thought to herself, before shaking her head. "No, not anyone specifically."

"Really?" Nudge asked, shocked.

She shook her head again. "No… Now can I _really_ have it back now?"

Nudge nodded, her eyebrows furrowed. _Maybe she hasn't fully admitted it to herself yet_, Nudge mused. _I'll give her a push then_. She handed The Angel Experiment back to Max, and turned around, walking away.

"It sure sounded like you were describing Fang," Nudge added, before leaving Max to stare at her back, confused.

* * *

_The next week-_

"Max?" Fang approached her with caution. He had read Max's essay, with full intentions of doing everything it said. Now, he was just confused.

Not to be modest or anything, but Fang believed he didn't _need_ to act the way it said on Max's essay, because he already _was_.

It was as if Max had described him when writing the essay. But that didn't make sense, because he was obviously _not_ perfect; she said so herself: "Perfect is not a trait anyone carries". So why did it seem as if she thought Fang was 'perfect'?

She was reading a book, but at the sound of Fang's voice, she looked up. "Oh, hey Fang," Max smiled.

Fang took a deep breath in and Max watched him with curious eyes. "Max…"

"Yes?"

He shook his head. _Why is she making this so hard for me?_ Fang calmed himself down. "I – you – well, will you go out with me?"

Max raised an eyebrow, smirking at Fang's nervousness. "And?" she wondered, trying to appear nonchalant, even though she was fairly giddy inside. Ever since that comment Nudge had made — whether it was on purpose or not, she'd never know — all Max could think about was her essay and Fang. Maybe she did describe him — maybe she _was_ in love with Fang.

Her one, blunt word made Fang panic. Although he thought Max felt the same, or at least similar, to the way he felt about her, he knew there was a possibility of rejection, and Fang prepared himself for that. Only, he didn't prep for indifference.

She watched him carefully — especially his reaction to that one word. It wasn't so great. "Explain why I would want to go out with you," Max demanded, a smirk playing on her lips.

Fang took yet _another _breath. "For one, I'm tall, dark, and mysterious, not to mention handsome," he said teasingly. "I'm your best friend, so you should know I'm loyal, protective, sweet, and daring. I won't be sexist towards you, but not let you do everything either. I'm not a total suck-up like Dylan." This brought out a laugh from Max, and he relaxed, continuing. "Even though I don't express myself much, I feel like you're the one person I can confide in, for anything. I trust you with my life. But most of all, I think — wait no, not think; I _know_ I'm in love with you because you don't try to be someone else; you act natural, and you're just you. The Maximum Batchelder I'm in love with."

Max smiled and walked closer to Fang. "Really?" she whispered, nearing closer. Fang's breath caught, but he nodded. "Well then…" Max paused. "I'd love to go out with you. Not because your reasons were ultimately true and stuff, but because…" She paused again, pursing her lips. "Because I love you."

Her face was so close to his by now, that Fang took this moment to kiss her. It was unexpected and quick, but Max loved it all the same.

When they pulled away from each other, Max narrowed her eyes at Fang. "Now, where's my essay?"

He blinked in surprise and feigned innocence. "What do you mean, _essay_?" Fang wondered, trying not to laugh.

Max pulled back even further, her hands on her hips. "Yeah, yeah, try to act innocent. Those reasons were true, but they sounded rehearsed, or recited. Want to know why? Because, you. Read. My. Essay," she grounded out, poking Fang in the chest with every word.

Accidentally letting a snort pass through his closed lips, Fang gave in. "Yeah, I did; I wanted to read what your perfect guy was like. Turns out, I already knew it all because you described me," he replied smugly.

Scoffing, Max crossed her arms. "Whatever… You were just hiding from me."

"Hiding —," Fang started to ask.

"Hiding perfectly in plain sight. I didn't realize it was… describing you… until Nudge pointed it out."

Fang pouted. "You let Nudge read it, but not me?"

Max laughed. "She blackmailed me with that book," she said, gesturing to the open book.

"How'd you figure out it was gone?" Fang wondered curiously.

She rolled her eyes. "Well… One, I never got it back when the rest of the class did, and two, Brigid kept giving me death glares the entire class, muttering 'Screw Fang'," Max informed him, eyes questioning. "What'd you do to her to make her say that? Actually, how in the world did you get _Brigid_ to give you the essay?"

He shifted from foot to foot, biting his lower lip some. "Would you believe me if I said I asked?"

"No, now why —,"

Fang advanced towards Max, effectively cutting her off from their close proximities. He pressed his lips to hers again, with an immediate response.

Pulling back after a few seconds, Max scowled at him. "Subject changer," she whined. "Now how — NO."

It was too late; Fang had already picked the book up — it was called, MAX: a Maximum Ride Novel — and was hovering it over Westbrook High's nefarious garbage cans.

"You wouldn't," Max glared at him.

Fang shrugged his shoulders, his dark eyes wide like a child's. "Wouldn't what?"

"Don't you _dare_ drop that in that can!" she hissed.

"Drop it then," Fang smiled.

She closed her eyes, slowly counting to ten. Relaxing her neck and shoulders, Max managed a, "Fine."

He grinned at Max and gestured with his hand for her to come closer.

Only, he accidentally used the hand that was holding Max's book. Both pairs of eyes widened as it fell out of his grip, down the can. "Oops…" Fang muttered, slowly backing away.

Max's eyes narrowed and she looked at Fang with a steely gaze. "You. Are _so_ dead," she seethed, an evil smile playing on her lips. Fang broke into a sprint, Max at his heels.

"I can't die! You loooove me, remember?" he called out, chuckling.

She shrugged, legs moving fast. "Oh well… I'll live." Fang gasped in mock horror."I love you, Fang," Max said, as she jumped on him, bringing both of their bodies to the ground.

He groaned. "I love you too, Max. Just not so much at this moment."


End file.
